Harvey l



STATES tra.

ATENT OFFICE.

HARVEY L. HOPKINS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO THE HARVEY L.

' HOPKINS COMPANY, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC BEARING-BOX ADJUSTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 472,122, dated April 5, 1892.

Application iiled April 25, 1891. Serial No. 390,363. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY L. HOPKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Automatic Bearing-BoX Adjusters, which is fully set forth in the following specitication, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- 1o Figure 1 represents a side elevation of the head of a connecting-rod embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a plan section of the same, taken on the broken line 2 2 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 3, a similar section taken on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

My invention relates to devices for automatically adjusting the-boxes or brasses of box-bearings, for the purpose of taking up all wear instantly and automatically, so that per- 2o feet bearing contact with the inclosed journal is always maintained and all pounding prevented.

. The invention is an improvement upon the general invention disclosed in my patent, No.

441,715, dated February 18, 1890, and more especially of the construction shown and described in my subsequent patent, N o. 441,7 97, dated December 2, 1890. This improvement is intended more especially for the connect- 3o ing-rods of locomotives, though obviously applicable elsewhere. In actual use of the devices constructed and arranged, as in my patent, No. 441,797, upon locomotivelconnecting-rods I have discovered two slight defects:

First, when the locomotive is run at a high rate of speed there is a tendency in the eccentric to turn back in a direction opposite to the revolution of the wheels, and if the spring is made strong enough to hold the eccentric 4o up to its work under these conditions whenv the locomotive is moving slowly this spring' will hold the brasses up so tight upon the crank-pin as to cause heating, and this difficulty is increased if the track is rough; second, owing to slight inaccuracies the crankpins do not always stand square with the workthat is, at a perfect right angle to the connecting-rod. In the construction shown in Patent No. 441,797 the movement of the adjustable 5o brass is in straight lines parallel with the connecting-rod and without any possible deviation therefrom. In case of an inaccuracy, as suggested above, this will lead to more or less binding at the crank-pin or journal, and in some cases even breakage.

It is the main object of my present invention to entirely overcome these difficulties and also to provide some additional imnrovements in some minor respects.

I will now struction and operation of devices by which I have carried out my invention in one practical way and in actual use, and will then lpoint out more definitely in claims the special improvements which I believe to be new and wish to secure by Letters Patent.

In the drawings,A represents the head of a locomotive connecting-rod, B B the brasses or part boxes, and C the wrist or crank-pin, the latter being shown in dotted lines. parts are all of ordinary construction, the head being shown in the drawings as forked, though instead of this usual form the slotted construction, also well known, may be employed. The brasses are Vfitted between the fork-arms a of the head in the ordinary way and are provided with the usual retainingflanges b b These two parts embrace the crank-pin or wrist C, and the inner brass B is movable, as usual. The fork or slot in the 8o head is somewhat deeper than the width of the brasses, so that there is a considerable space between the inner brass and the bottom of the fork, and within this space adjusting devices are mounted, as I will now explain. The adjuster is a cam or eccentric D, similar to that described and shown in Patent No. 441,797 but this-cam is mounted within the fork vor slot of the head in an upright position between the two arms a, so that the axis of 9o the cam will stand at right angles to the axis of the crank-pin instead of parallel thereto,

as in the said patent. In other words, I give the axis of the cam a quarter-turn, bringing it into a position at right angles to its former v position. The mounting of this cam is effected as follows: A bearing-block E is arranged immediately behind the brass B, its contactface with the latter being plain and smooth. This block is somewhat narrower than the Ioo space between the flanges of the brass B, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, so that it may have a particularly describe the con- 5o I These 7c y slight lateral movement in this space. The rear face of the block is provided with a concave recess or seat e, running up and down the whole length of the block. The cut for this circular recess, as shown in the drawings, commences at one edge e', which may be called the front edge of the block, speaking with reference to the action of the cam, and it runs out a little before reaching the rear edge e2, and at the commencement of the cut the front edge is slightly cut away or cut down, so that the thickness of the block at this edge will be slightly less than it is at the rear edge, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3; but this is simply to make the recess coliform to the cam in this instance.

The cam D is provided on one side with an eccentric projection or enlargement cl, which is adapted to tit or be seated in this circular recess or depression in the block E. This cam enlargement may be like an ordinary eccentric, though I prefer to construct it on a spiral curve, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3, so that its action will be constant on the bearingblock from beginning to end of the spiral curve, owing to the increasing depth of the cam-surface when constructed in this way. NVith this construction the termination of the cam may be constructed with a short straight shoulder cl', as seen in the said figures. This cam-surface extends up and down the entire length of the adjuster D, as seen in Fig. l, this being the preferable construction, for reasons which will hereinafter appear, though its forward thrust upon the brass B may be effected even if it does not extend along its entire length. A seat-block F is arranged in the bottom of the fork or slot of the connecting-rod head, being constructed to nicely fill the space and provided with retaining-danges f, which embrace the sides of the head, thus firmly and securely seating this block in the bottom of the slot or fork, as seen in Figs. 2 and 3. The front face of this block is provided with a circular recess or seat f', running up and down its entire length and adapted to receive and form a seat for the rear or cylindrical side of the cam D, as seen in Figs. a and 3. This cam then is mounted and held between the two blocks E and F, each of which is provided with a suitable circular seat for this purpose. The cam has no separate and stationary journal, but is held in place by its mounting, as described, between these two blocks. The upper end of the cam for a little distance is turned down to form a short stud (Z2, and around this stud is coiled an actuating-spring G, the inner end of which is fastened to the stud, as seen in Fig. 2, while the outer end is fastened to the seat-block F, as is also seen in the same figure. These parts are constructed and arranged relatively, so that when the cam is mounted in position, as seen in Fig. 2, the spring will be strained. Hence it is obvious that the action of the spring will tend to turn the cam outward, thereby acting upon the bearing-block E to force it outward against the brass B, thus maintaining the desired bearing-contact of the latter with the wrist or crank-pin, kind as in my prior patents mentioned above, especially No. 441,797.

In one side of the cam D there is provided a socket d3, which is adapted to receive a suitable pin, by means of which the cam may be 7 5 turned back to release the bearings, and itis sometimes desirable to fasten the cam in this retracted position. For this purpose I provide a set-screw I-I, inserted in the lower forkarm or strap, so as to be turned up against 8o the bottom or lower end of the cam, as seen in Fig. 1, and this set-screw I provide with a jam or check nut h, whereby the screw may be secured in its adjustment. If it is desired to release the boxes from the operation of the cam for a time, the latter is turned back, the set-screw is turned up firmly against its lower end, thereby securing it against closing or turning forward under the operation of thc spring, also fastened from turning. Now with this construction and arrangement of the adjusting devices several advantages are obtained. First, the tendency of the cam to turn back in a direction opposite to the movement of the wheels when a locomotive is run at high speed disappears entirely and the objections due to this tendency are completely overcome; second, the actuating spring is required to properly hold the cam up to its Work when the locomotive is moving slowly, and so undue friction is obviated; third, all pounding with a connecting-rod provided with these devices is absolutely prevented; fourth, as x05 the bearing of the cam extends almost the entire length of the bearing-block there is an. even pressure upon the inner brass from top to bottom, thereby preventing any slight turning, so as to give a greater opening between 11o the brasses at the top than at the bottom, or vice versa, which action wears the brasses in the straps, so that after a time they will become loose; fifth, all binding due to inaccuracies in the position of crank-pins relative to I 1 5 the line of work is also prevented, for the reason that as the circular cam is seated in circular recesses, which stand perpendicular to the crank-pin, there is provision fora slight oscillation upon the cam, which will compenrzo sate for all such inaccuracies as the brasses wear; sikth, 1t frequently happens that sand gathers in the bear1ngboxes of locomotives, which 1t is a common practice to wash out by the free use of oil; but when the cam is free to act under the influence of its spring thc brasses are held so closely against thc crankpin that this washing out with oil cannot be practiced; but with the set-screw here provided the cam can be fastened back in an in- 13o operative adjustment, in which condition the sand may be washed out with oil, as stated, when upon releasing the set-screw the cam will at once close the brasses.

this operation being the same in 7o and by the check-nut the screw is 9o be only of suiiicient strength to roo The construction of the bearing-block E of a less width than the brass against which it acts is important, for it is necessary to the satisfactory working of the adjuster that this block should have some lateral movement or a movement with the cam. It is also desirable that the recess or curved seat in this block for the reception of the cam should conform to the curve of the cam projection. Otherwise with the construction of the cam shown and described the action of the latter will not be uniform; but with this provision it will remain the same up to its termination. It will be noted that in this construction there are no extra caps or covers for the cam. It is sim ply held between the straps or fork-arms of the head. It will also be noted that there is a perfectly solid bca-ring from the cross-bar at the outer end of the head to the bottom or slot of the fork therein, as seen in Fig. 3 of the drawings and as mentioned in my patent, No. 441,797. It is evident that if a circular joint is provided between the inner brass and the bearing-block E, running up and down at right angles to the crank-pin, the result due to the seating of the cam in said block, as herein shown and described, will also be obtained-that is, there will be provision for a slight lateral oscillation of the box-bearings. This mode of obtaining` this result may be employed under some differentconstruction and arrangement of the cam.

There may be some modifications in details of construction and arrangement of the devices here shown and described without substantial change in the operation thereof, and such modifications I wish to be understood as contemplating in the practical application of this invention to different locations and under different circumstances.

Havingth us described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l l. In a connecting-rod, the brasses or part boxes embracing the Wrist or crank-pin, in combination with a cam arranged within the fork or slot of the connecting-rod and with its axis at right angles to the axis of the crank-pin, and. an actuating-spring operating to turn the cam in a direction to press the inner brass constantly toward the crank-pin, substantially as described.

2. In a connecting-rod, the brasses or part boxes embracing the wrist or crank-pin, in

combination with a cam arranged within the fork or slot of said rod,acircular seat or joint between the inner brass and said cam, the axis of which joint is at right angles to the crank-pin, and an actuating-spring arranged to turn the cam in a direction to press the inner brass forward against the crank-pin,

whereby slight lateral oscillation of the boxbearings is permitted, substantially as described.

3. In a connecting-rod, the brasses B B', embracing the wrist or crank-pin, in combination with the bearing-block E, arranged behind the inner brass and provided with a circular seat or recess c at right angles to the wrist, the circular cam D,with its axis at right angles to the crank-pin and provided with a cam projection d, seated in the recess of the bearing-block, and the actuating-spring G, substantially as described.

4:. -In a connecting-rod, the part boxes B B,

in combination with the bearing-block E, the l cam D, arranged with its axis at right angles to the crank-pin and seated on the bearingblock, the seat-block F at the bottom of the slot or fork and provided with a circular re- ,cess for the cam, and the actuating-spring H,

substantially as described. l

5. In a connecting-rod, the part boxesBB, in combination with a cam, an actuatingspring arranged to turn the cam to press the inner box forward into contact with the crankpinand a set-screw H, mounted in the head ot the connecting-rod and adapted to be turned against the cam to secure it when turned back out of working position, substantially as described.

6. In a connecting-rod, the inner brass B, in combination with the cam D, actuatingspring G, set-screw H, and jam-nut h, substantially as described.

7. In a connecting-rod, the inner brass B, in combination with the bearing-block E, of

-less width than the brass and provided with a circular recess e in its front face, the cam D, provided with an eccentric projection d, adapted to be seated in the said recess of the bearing-block and having the same curve as said recess, and the actuating-spring G, sub-v stantially as described.

HARVEY L. HOPKINS. Witnesses:

CARRIE FEIGEL, A. M. BEST.

IOO 

